I bake. A lot.

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I have been thinking about what to write about for a while now. I have two close friends who are both new-ish to the blogosphere and I love hearing what they have to say, but I still haven’t been sure what I should say. Both of these lovely ladies, Kristina from The Fast and the Foodiest, and Val from The Slacker Gourmet, have both nominated me for the Liebster Award. These awards are given by bloggers to other bloggers to spread the blog love! The intention is to connect the blogging community to these new bloggers. Thank you, Val and Kristina for giving me the perfect chance for my first “real” blog post!

The “rules” are that I will answer the questions that Kristina and Val gave me and then I will nominate some other blogs that I love and send them some questions! The bloggers I nominate will link back here, which is how the connections grow!

The first set of questions is from Kristina:

1. Where do you draw inspiration from?

My inspiration comes from everywhere. I like to make people happy. The things that inspire me, when it comes to what I feel like creating in my kitchen that day, can be as simple as something my sister wants me to make or something that encompasses all of my recent cravings. (Peanut butter cup cake, anyone?) Sometimes my baking follows a theme, like fruits or chocolate. Other times it pairs with what we’re having for dinner that night. I like to have a deep chocolate dessert after a steak dinner for some reason. If I’m creating a sweet treat for a friend, I take their personality into consideration in addition to what they actually want to make a treat that is just perfect.

This is one of the very first fancy-ish cakes I made years ago. It was for my grandmother’s 80th birthday. She loved fresh flowers and strawberries. She got a strawberry cake adorned with pink roses.

2. Your favorite vacation spot?

I’m not sure that I have a favorite. I like coastal destinations where there’s not many people. You would think that since I’m afraid of the sun, that the case would be different…but I love the beach. Just not between the hours of 12pm and 4pm. I’m amazing a boogie boarding. A strange, hairy, Canadian man who had a shark tooth necklace and a speedo taught a bunch of us kids at Old Orchard Beach in Maine one year. We used to see him every year until we started renting in a different location. Thank you for the lessons, sir!

3. Food you will never, ever try?

I will never, ever try foie gras. Ew. Gross. Yuck. I’m constantly on the fence about eating animals (mmm tasty, but so cute!!! ugh) and the thought of eating a fat liver from a force-fed bird does NOT appeal to me. Also, liver usually tastes like pennies…so there’s that.

4. Food that you haven’t tried, but are totally desperate to try?

This is a tough one, since I normally try everything. I’ll copy Val on this one and pick Turducken. That sounds great, even if “turd” is in the title…

5. Most memorable “foodie” moment/ most memorable meal?

A lot of awesome times happen around awesome food. I would have to say the most memorable one(s) would be the pig roast family reunions we used to have in the middle of where upstate New York. It was everyone from my dad’s family for a weekend of, food, camping, target shooting and story-telling around campfires. It was so fun!

This is my dad keeping the temperature of the converted oil tank under control. There’s a whole pig in there! It fed about 40 people. Also, this is from 1996 and my dad still dresses like Rambo.

6. Have you climbed/hiked a mountain? Where?

Yes! I have! Mount Wachusett in Princeton, MA. It’s not a very tall mountain, but it still counts. The views are awesome at the top…I mostly drive to the top now.

7. What accomplishment are you most proud of?

I’m so awesome, where do I even start? Kidding. I would say that graduating college was a big one, but everyone does that so I can’t use it. I guess I’m proud of the work I do at my day job. I make drugs that keep people alive. That’s pretty important.

8. A goal of yours that makes you shake in your boots, just a little?

My goal is to own a small bakery. That is terrifying. Do you know all of the hoops you need to jump through just to make that legal? Don’t even get me started on the fear of rejection if people don’t like what I have to offer. I’m going to go hide in a corner now…

9. Place you would move to if given the ideal opportunity?

I feel like this answer would change on a daily basis. Sometimes I just want to go to Western Massachusetts to get away from the crazy of North Central Massachusetts which isn’t even as cray-cray as Eastern Massachusetts. Other times I want to move to the Pacific Northwest. Today I want to live in Maine. Near a lake. On a property where I can grow lots of vegetables and have tons of dogs that love to snuggle with me.

10. Celebrity that makes you cringe?

When I was little, it was Christopher Walken. BUT HOW COOL IS THAT GUY?! A cringe-worthy celebrity for me is just your run of the mill trashy starlet. I have no one in particular in mind. Don’t be trashy. Some people may look up to you.

Luckily, Val only gave me five questions to answer. I’m not a wordy person…(now you’re thinking why I would ever start a blog?) so five questions is a piece of cake!

1. What did you think you would be doing with your life when you were 13 years old, and if your 13 year old self could see you now, would she be surprised?

I wanted to be a Chemical Engineer when I was 13. I followed through with that so Kate from 1998 would not be surprised. However, the Kate of 2014 is surprised because I just wanna bake. I started baking a lot in college. I even “won” the superlative of “Best Cook” for the Northeastern University Class of 2008 Chemical Engineers. High Five. There was only like 35 of us in the class…

2. Is there anything you’re really good at making that you don’t like to or won’t eat? If so, what?

Do people really do this? Is this a “thing”? I would never make anything that I would never eat. Where’s the fun in that? If you really want to stretch the answer, I put olives in the pasta salad that I make for my boyfriend. I WOULD NEVER EAT THAT WITH THE OLIVES. But if I’m having some, olives are on the side and he can have at it.

3. What is your favorite everyday meal (easily accessible, don’t have to travel far to get it)?

Eggs with veggies or a can of sardines and a tomato….once I made a veggie omelet with sardines in it. Yes, I love sardines. They have a strong smell, but they are so so so good.

4. Have you had any celebrity encounters? If so, what was the most interesting one?

It wasn’t a chance encounter. I won tickets to a meet and greet private concert on Cape Cod with Weezer in 2001. I was only 15 and it was a “secret” location, but my dad got the bus driver to tell him where they were taking me. We had a clam bake and private concert with Weezer. So fun.

5. What was your worst culinary disaster?

My dog ate 19 freshly made chocolate cupcakes…liners included…and all the butter I was going to use to make the frosting for them. That was a disaster. We went outside a lot that day.

Thank you Valerie and Kristina!

Now I need to nominate some bloggers. I only know two bloggers. They are Kristina and Val. I’m re-nominating both of you. I feel like an evil genius. Muahaha. You don’t have to do it again if you don’t want to…you can even just reply with a comment! I’ll keep it short and sweet like a cupcake.

What is the best cake you ever had? I want all the details. Cake is my favorite.